A South Carolina woman has been accused of drowning her 6-year-old daughter before trying to kill another child — whose cries for help ultimately saved her, according to authorities.
Jamie Michele Bradley-Brun, 37, has been charged with murder and attempted murder stemming from the incident early Friday, the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Department wrote on Facebook.
Sheriff’s deputies responded to an address on Sam Doyle Driver in Saint Helena Island at approximately 1:25 a.m. Friday and discovered Mackayla Bradley-Braun, 6, dead.
Deputies immediately detained Jamie, citing information they received from the emergency services dispatcher.
“The early morning investigation revealed that Jamie Michele Bradley-Brun most likely drowned the 6-year-old,” the sheriff’s office said.
“Following that Bradley-Brun then attempted to drown an 8-year-old child.”
A cry for help from the older child caused other people inside the home to wake up and intervene by calling 911 for help, the statement said.
The Beaufort County Coroner’s Office was scheduled Friday to perform an autopsy to formally determine Mackaya’s cause of death.
Jamie was arrested Friday. She is being held without bond at the Beaufort County Detention Center.
“The investigation is ongoing,” the sheriff’s department said.
“The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division’s Special Victim’s Unit-Department of Child Fatalities is working alongside the Sheriff’s Office in this investigation.”